Undecided First-Timer

[jaydjay4707]

I would like to purchase a camera for around 2-$300. I would prefer a camera that takes pretty good video and some nice stills. I just want to catch those precious moments with my children. I have read about the cheaper brands (Aiptek, Digilife, etc.) and the specs look pretty good. What is the catch?

[LadyhawkVA]

It seems to me that good hybrid cameras are rare and may continue to be so for quite some time. Affordable cameras seem to be dedicated to either taking good stills or good videos. I think the key word is "affordable." When you think about it, we consumers are pretty demanding about all the features we want - and we want to pay as little as possible for them. I'm not too familiar with video cameras, but I assume videographers are every bit as picky as photographers. I think perhaps it's difficult for a company to manufacture a hybrid camera that will compete well in both the video- and still-camera markets - and there's a lot of competition in both - and also fall into the kind of price range we all want.

Unfortunately, I do not have a recommendation for you regarding which hybrid camera to buy. I've decided to stick to photography at this point in my life. Both of my digital cameras have fairly low-grade video modes, but I knew when I bought them that I was looking for good still cameras, not videocameras. If I ever decide to get into videography I'll buy a camera dedicated to that art. I still have enough to learn about photography without confusing myself with the art of videography. Maybe one day I'll be ready for both.

[soukups]

I have a Canon A300 (now it's a A400) and this camera does a excellent job at 640x480 video. Buy a large flash card and you can make plenty of good quality video (with audio) easily burned to disk. This camera is around $150 now. Oh, and it take a nice snapshot too.